#so Lilith just sees this kid who gets to be by Belos' side all the time and she doesn't get what he has that she doesn't

[sepublic]

            It genuinely discomforts me how many times Luz is forced to be alone with Belos… It genuinely adds to the isolating, horrific nature of their meetings, and Belos himself. He’s a horror movie villain in a kids’ show, quite frankly; Like being trapped in the house with the murderer (Belos is a canonical serial killer who stabbed his brother to death), and at best you have the fading static of your friends trying to contact you as you explain what’s going on, which DOES happen in Hollow Mind, fittingly. 

        Luz has nobody to back her up, no support, nothing. The power imbalance just lends to the tenseness and uncertainty, that sense of Luz just barely surviving, even when Belos doesn’t WANT to kill her… But he totally can. He’s personally killed many people, and even does kill Luz. Belos’ introduction, the first time Luz sees him devouring a palisman, really does color how he (literally!) scars and haunts and changes her life. Belos is just straight up Luz’s abuser and gleefully knows it, and tbh I feel like people overlook this when discussing Hunter’s abuse (both are valid, discuss both please).

         Now there are a few exceptions to the isolation in Luz and Belos’ encounters, such as Lilith or Hunter, the Hexsquad in Thanks to Them; But when these two talk and interact, any friends Luz may have are usually absent or even put out of the picture by Belos. Like when Lilith is attacked by the Stonesleeper, and for a brief bit it’s just Luz having to confront the real Philip, not the kindly façade he’s put up. Or Belos drowning Hunter in his mind.

         Again, the isolating nature of these conversations makes the trauma and gaslighting by Belos so much more potent; There isn’t someone there to see what he’s saying and immediately refute it, to stand by Luz’s side. So try as she might to call Belos out, there’s always that little part of Luz that asks, What if I’m wrong? What if he’s right? And she doesn’t have any support in that moment, when she really needs it, to reassure her; Only afterwards, and that’s assuming if she explains it to the others.

         And, well; Luz is quite the master at repression, denial, bottling things up and acting like they’re fine. So who’s to say how much she’s told? So of course Luz internalizes things, of course Belos goes out of his way to rub it in her face that SHE helped him, after months of self-loathing bordering on suicidal ideation.

         Belos is just… such a disturbingly intimate bogeyman, the monster who hides in the closet at night and attacks kids when they’re vulnerable and alone, when they have no parents or friends to protect them (No wonder he’s Dana’s least favorite character to write, it’s viscerally uncomfortable). He’s genuinely scary and is reveling in that control! Belos’ influence lingers even when he isn’t there, like he’s remotely controlling/reminding you, reprogrammed your entire brain.

        So for his final scene with Luz to be a desperate attempt to get her to say something, anything… Only for Luz to not even bother, just let him melt and burn at her mercy, only to find there is none? Belos trying to get under Luz’s skin, but his words are worthless now, and she holds the power both mentally and physically; Not a thing Belos can do to hurt Luz.

         And again, this time she’s not alone; Because Eda, King, and Raine step in, and shut down his words. Respond to Belos’ lies, his rhetoric, with a perfect summation that accompanies how they kill him. When we begin S3, Luz is at her lowest point, her worst self-loathing… So when Belos does attempt to resume the gaslighting and manipulation, THAT’s when her friends, the Hexsquad, step in to back Luz up. Because she really needs it now.

         S3 is Luz inevitably cashing in on all of the kindness she’s done for everyone when they pay her back, whether she likes it or not; And she likes it, eventually! In Thanks to Them, Luz’s friends don’t really get a word in to Belos, it’s up to Luz to do this on her own alas… But that leads nicely into, as I mentioned earlier, their next and final ‘conversation’, where Luz’s family DOES hear and DOES directly respond to the gaslighting, to the lies. They bring them down.

         And before that, Luz finally does talk to a loved one, the Titan, about Belos’ words; So even if Belos isn’t there, even if someone isn’t there to refute his words as they’re said in real-time, before they can have a chance to sink in and make Luz reflect on them by herself. We still have her explaining to someone afterwards and genuinely being reassured and comforted, which then leads to a confident Luz ignoring Belos; Which culminates in her fellow weirdos taking her side.

         There’s always that feeling of being stuck alone with your back against the wall when you’re arguing with someone, and you feel like they’re secretly right, or you’re wrong, or whatever; So to have people support you, especially against an abuser, is the most wonderful and triumphant feeling; You AREN’T insane, you’re right. And it just plays into the finale and the show about fellow weirdos sticking together and supporting each other, finding your own family, accepting others and their help into your life. They’re not alone and that’s how they defeat Belos, both physically and mentally. Because he doesn’t have anyone.

        It really shows how hollow Belos’ rhetoric is, and that he knows it, if he needs to isolate people first in order to actually get into their heads. That it falls apart when used against more than one person at a time. I love seeing Luz’s loved ones, like her girlfriend Amity who always believes in her, or her mother Eda, or her brother King, stepping in to say; No, you’re wrong! Not on my watch! I love Luz’s mother Camila being there for her, as if the presence of her and everyone else is what emboldens Luz to confidently call out Belos as the TRUE traitor to Caleb, not the other way around. After how worried they were for Luz, they got their bit in. I’m just as relieved as Luz when her friends show up, we both really needed that reassurance. I love this family so much.

[emeraldart]

New AU: Combining the Hunter is raised in human realm and Vee is raised in human realm AUs

(Vee looks different because she’s disguised as a random scout)

[ID: It’s a comic with characters from The Owl House. First panel: Boots run over red grass. Text: Hunter: “Cmon, cmon!” Second panel: Owlbert’s wing is visible. A bag with “human treasure” written on it is in the middle. Text: Eda: “Nice haul, Owlbert. Hey! Get away from my door!”

Third panel: A hand holds the door frame. On one side, there’s rain. Text: Hunter: “This way!” Fourth panel: A marigold under the rain. Text: Vee: “Hunter, where are we?” Fifth panel: Vee’s arm is around Hunter. She has brown skin and red hair. Her ears are visible. Hunter is in his Golden Guard uniform without a mask. They both have scratches and tears in their clothing. Text: Hunter: “I think… we’re in the human realm.” Luz: “Mami! I hear something!” End ID.]

Lore dump under cut (there’s a lot)

Maybe about 4 years precanon Hunter is just hanging out and meets Vee and they become best friends (but he definitely doesn’t see her as a little sister because that’d be ridiculous and he’s not at all attached). About 2 years precanon the kiddos are just hanging out when Belos finds them and stuff gets bad. They run but Belos has to keep it low key so the people wont know he’s a bitch. Vees disguise is just based on a scout but due to limited magic she still has spots, ears, etc. They find Eda selling her human trash and Vee thinks it’s a great idea to hide behind this funky looking door with the rain behind it. And then, oh my titan, the rain doesn’t boil. Hunter figures out they’re in the human realm.

Luz (who’s maybe about 12?) finds a pointy eared boy with pink eyes and a shapeshifter so this is the best day of her life. But they’re injured! She calls her Mami who is very confused but she sees hurt kids and is like mine now. So now she’s got these magic children on the run from a mysterious realm. Neat. Through the power of plot armor (idk) they’re officially adopted. They take time to warm up to Camila but they take to Luz instantly.

Luz has 2 magic siblings so she’s even more into fantasy now. So, reality check camp. The principal is meaner because this girl is constantly sneaking her homeschooled siblings into school. So yeah, summer camp. Hunter and Vee are not happy but not really confident enough to tell Camila that. So they wait with their sister for the bus.

Then! An owl comes! Luz starts chasing it and then they start chasing her. Hunter and Vee recognize the isles and possibly Eda. They’re all freaked out but Luz is like, yay! Now we can figure out where you’re from! This is like a side mystery. They do the regular adventures but with noceda sib bickering. Occasionally there’s curiosity in finding Hunter and Vees mysterious parents they’re being vague about and not really being helpful.

In AOAW, Hunter and Vee are being really weird about skipping the field trip but okay, they’re weird all the time. Maybe there’s a mini adventure of them bringing Amity her homework or something. So in YBOS they gotta save Eda. This is a horrible idea but sure why not. Luz’s siblings are being especially mean to Lilith even though she’s trying to be better. Luz doesn’t like her either but like why are they being so mean?

In that part where they find Belos her siblings are so scared but then he grabs them. Luz tries to get them but he takes them to some other room. Oh titan. She does the whole biz but doesn’t find her siblings so she’s very scared.

Meanwhile! Vee is returned to the Conformitorium. Belos doesn’t really have anyone to refill his supplies so he kinda needs her and Hunter. He locks Hunter in his old room and gives him an ultimatum. He does his old duties as GG or else he’ll replace him and Vee. He can’t escape during missions because Vees still at the Conformitorium.

In Separate Tides, Hunter catches up Luz and King on the ship and then Eda robs it. They clarify things, figure things out, etc. So Luz has isn’t entirely reunited with her siblings but she knows where they are. She probably tells Willow, Gus, and Amity, too.

In Hunting Palismen, they free the palismen and defest Kiki so, high on power, they break Vee out. They kinda sorta come home at they same time as Eda and King do with the wood so that’s an interesting conversation. So the next few eps are the same but with siblings and more trauma. Maybe Hunter and Willow also get together in knock knock knockin or maybe not. Maybe during then Vee thinks about a pretty enby they knew in the human realm. There’s also lumity here and there because lumity. Eclipse Lake Belos never gets the key but they only use half the blood and the key is taken Post hollow mind when the EC takes the owl house. Yesterdays Lie has all 3 Nocedas talking to Camila who does know they’re missing in this one. Cue depressing reunion. ASIAS is just silly kids play sports. Maybe there’s a small run in with the EC. In E&E, Luz is extra sus of phil especially with his drawing (of her ‘mano???) but the others stay home to meet del.

Hollow Mind! Night market incident where they just… bump into the traitors. Oops. Still just Luz and Hunter now with less bickering over if Belos is evil because y’know they know. At the end Hunter still runs so Labyrinth Runners can still happen. Vee is there for the whole “you’re a titan, King” deal and comforts him because she gets it. She’s been there.

The siblings reunite in COTH and there’s some minor changes in with Vee in the Belos fight and maybe she goes back to the demon realm with them? (It also makes sense if she isn’t ready). Plot wise it’s the same after Kings Tide but Camilas closer with Hunter and Vee (calling them mijo and mija more, etc.) and sadder because all her kids were missing and there wasn’t really a doppelgänger so she knew they were gone the whole time.

I hope at least some of this made sense :)

[wr3nns]

Things I thought about after Watching and Dreaming, with no particular order. Much of this is pulled directly from my notes document

Hunters tv tropes page says Caleb is hinted to be albino

Lilith may have let Luz fall in Agony of a Witch if Eda hadn't sent Owlbert to catch her

Hunter relaxes slightly with everyone else at the beginning of For the Future when Luz says she's okay after coming out of the portal. He's relieved she's okay, even wrapped up in his own head as he is

Belos lights up the Titan's opposite eye from the one the Titan has lit. The Titan has a functioning left eye but a dim right one, and Belos lit the right one. King has a crack on the left side of his skull, Eda has a grey left eye, Luz has a scar over her left eyebrow. All of the Flapjack tattoos are on the left side except for Hunter's, which is where his sigil was (or is, if they had just started developing that technology and hadn't removed it yet)

The palistrom shortage was not only from Belos taking palismen, but also using the wood to make grimwalkers

Oh no did he ask Hunter to kill the Selkidomus because he expected this grimwalker to be the last and he wasn't giving himself room for failure. He needed to complete his mission, and failure wasn't an option if he couldn't make more grimwalkers. Because he had to have Caleb in the picture.

The fact that the show itself says point-blank that Belos is genuinely delusional and his goals are self-serving (through the Titan talking with Luz)

King never saw the room full of Titan skulls in Edge of the World, so he's seeing it for the first time in Watching and Dreaming

Luz's scene of standing and watching Belos melt while he tries to talk to her perfectly mirrors the scene of ghost Caleb standing and watching Belos melt while Belos tries to talk to him. They have the same expressions, angles, shots. And it's flipped. The scene is flipped. It's literally mirrored. And she has a similar hair thing going on. A fluffy hair noodle.

The speech Belos gave to Luz probably parallels how he tried to convince his brother

Luz's Titan magic orb is like the light glyph. King also had one when he yelled at Belos. Also Luz was zapping around like Hunter, the sound effect is even reminiscent

The parallels between Belos' skeletal form and the Titan's skeletal form

Waffle/s sitting on Hunter's head at the very end,,, feels familiar. No I'm not crying

Alador doesn't hunch anymore, and his belt has three symbols for each of his 3 kids

King finally got to play catch

Willow is definitely about to kiss Hunter in the Grom photo. Also look at his suit. Atrocious. Absolutely wretched. Perfect.

Green fungus vs red grass. Just. The colors in general there's so so so much going on there I have so many thoughts about it

Polly

The fact that Caleb's kindness and forgiveness did not work on Philip. Caleb hugged his brother even as Philip was corrupted and monstrous and it did not work. And the Collector ran into the same problem. Can you stop haunting the narrative for five minutes

Dana as a Hexside student cameo

The earrings exchange

The basilisks!!! At least two others survived!! And maybe reunited with Vee! This is excellent news

The airship with the abomination styled like the way Luz styled the Blight's household abomination to look like a cat

Dana signing Luz's writing scholarship. Luz getting a writing scholarship. Remember at the end of ASIAS when Lumity had the idea of their book club also being a writing club

Amity recognizing Luz quoting Azura in Covention (which Luz also outright states) but not saying anything. Imagine her inner dialogue, must have been so confusing

The kid who introduced sigil application way back when being the one to introduce the removal process. Good for him

Amity and Lilith have a good relationship. They were sort of like a mirror of Luz and Eda's mentor-mentee relationship such a long time ago, but less healthy. Now they're friends

Hunter gets all the family ties. Clearly a Noceda because of Thanks to Them, clearly a Deamonne from Watching and Dreaming, which also makes him a Blight, and he also gets Eberwolf with Darius because of course. If you include being a clone of Eda & Lilith's great-something grandfather AND being Luz's sister AND the fact that there may be a shared guardianship of Luz between Camila and Eda, which also includes Raine, he gets to be a Clawthorne, which also means he gets to be a Whispers. And let's not forget how he's obviously also a Park. If desired, for good measure, you can cite brotherly relation and tack on Porter as well. And don't forget the actual canon where he is adopted by the entire school as the resident cryptid

Hunter is literally a cryptid and I have been thinking about this for a very long time. I wish they got to talk about that more but they didn't, which means it's free real estate

The sheer amount of love and care baked into the finale. It's splendid. The hugs and kisses and words and actions and feelings

Eda and King both got mega evolutions. Then Luz did too

Making a stand against Belos at the site of the DOU. Paralleling prior shots, like looking over the Isles and talking about destiny, the parallels between Luz's Titan mega evolution vs Hunter's possession (there's quite a lot)

How they avoided the feeling of powercreep by keeping a lot of the actions very readable and down-to-earth. Even when they were fighting kaiju puritan with decay laser, there weren't world-shattering mega-powers. Everything was built on what we already understood. We got glyphs, we got Harpy mode and Beast mode and King's powers were heightened but they were still the same powers, we got Luz with her staff and Belos with his usual strategy, Raine fighting back in ways we already understood but also ways which meant more (like breaking their instrument). The archives collapsing and the Collector holding them up with ribbons while standing on the shooting star, we understand those powers because we saw them earlier, it made sense

While the archives start falling, Hunter zips toward Willow before stopping short when they stop falling. Hmmm now where have we seen something like that before. For reference I am talking about COTH

Amity finally using a glyph

Amity using vines, Willow using fire. That's the reversal of their usual things. Amity used the fire spell in Adventures in the Elements, that was tough for her. Willow's got plants down. Hunter using ice. Gus flying around and levitating

Hunter being able to save a palisman

Eda's absolutely MASSIVE smiles throughout

Magic coming from the heart, callback to The Intruder

The massive Titan heart in the throne room appearing way back when, and us all wondering about it, and it finally FINALLY came back with significance. Awesome

Luz burning away the rot before making an ice path to give her a clear shot at Belos. Utilizing the glyphs to their fullest, one after the other, super fast. She's become fluent in the Titan's language

Luz's confident speech to Belos paralleling her prior speeches in a moment of pure epicness as she annihilates him. And that's the last she ever says to him

The Collector crowning the Titan

The Titan acknowledging that he went after the wrong person

Everyone being so very gender

The Collector explaining "Hide and Seek" scene was just so. Intense. Them not understanding how mortals work. How empathy works. They're a young child who was raised by the wrong sort of people, they honestly didn't know any better. But that's when compassion comes in

The way the Collector flinched away from Amity paints a bad picture of the sorts of expectations he has

The Hexside kids are okay!!

Belos obviously tries one last Hail Mary, and Luz Is Not Having It

Did the rain come from Luz channeling the Titan's powers?

You can see scarring on Raine's arm. Almost matching Eda. And someone else we know. They should talk

[hxney-lemcn]

Hello, may I request Hunter x fem! Reader angst with a sweet ending? Hunter and the reader were really close (& crushing on each other) and used to work together in the Emperor's Coven until Hunter had to betray the reader because Belos felt intimated by her power. As a result, he ordered Hunter to frame her for a crime in order to get rid of her. Before she is sentenced to be executed for treason, she manages to escape and disappears before reappearing later, helping Eda and Luz. When Hunter joins their side, the reader is cold with him until one night where Hunter manages to get them alone. After a bit of small talk they manage to talk about what happened and little by little reader warms up to him until she decides that she wants to give their relationship a try again. Sorry if that's too long and specific. You can pick whatever you want to write! 😁 Absolutely love your works! 💜

Summary: Reader and Hunter were friends in the Emperor's coven, but he breaks their trust and they're forced to run. Unexpectedly, Hunter ends up in the same place and tries to make it up to them.

tw: Evil Belos.

a/n: I enjoyed writing this! I kinda changed how the reader got away, but I hope you don't mind too much.

wc: 3.3k

Master List

I walked down the white and gold halls. Head high, shoulders square, I ignored the scouts that scrambled into position. I honestly couldn’t care less. I know how long and boring the guard shifts are, it doesn’t hurt anyone if they slouch. 

I was known as (y/n), Lilith’s apprentice. I was seen as a prodigy, I had a knack for magic, which helped me join the Emperor’s coven and fly up the ranks. This caught Lilith’s eye, and she decided to take me under her wing. She recognized my potential. I was grateful. 

But I wasn’t the only child prodigy. The Golden Guard was someone notorious in the coven. People didn’t really like him, and I understood the sentiment. He was an annoying brat who got everything seemingly handed to him. He was the Emperor’s pet. Though the same could be said about me towards Lilith I suppose. But everyone saw me work hard for the place I got, and they respected me for it. It could also be because people highly respected Lilith. 

Lilith warned me about the Golden Guard once. Told me he’d only bring me trouble. Told me to stay away from him. And I kept that mentality for a bit.

Things change, and so do people’s opinions. It happened when Lilith had me return a library book for her, her being too busy with paperwork. I didn’t mind the busy work, kept my mind off of how lonely it was. They cut off all connections to others once you join, something that a kid like me shouldn’t have to deal with, but here I stood. 

I nodded at the scouts that stood guard and entered. I went to the ancient curse section, and put the curse section and put the book back. I thought I was alone, until I stumbled upon the Golden Guard sitting at a table. Mask off, staring blankly at the book in front of him. Seeing him without a mask…was weird. I mean, without the mask resting on the desk, I wouldn’t have known who he was. I didn’t know how to feel. His appearance was unique, but he just…he looked so normal. Like he could be a student studying for an upcoming test. 

Of course it’s not like that here. He was probably searching for information about an upcoming, very dangerous mission. Those are the missions he’s typically sent on. And he never seemed to fail. Even if I didn’t like his personality, I respected his work ethic. I snapped out of my little reverie. Jeeze, I must be more tired than I thought. I went to continue walking, but it seemed to have alerted the Golden Guard. His head snapped up towards me, his magenta eyes piercing through me with a glare. But I couldn’t help notice how dark the bags under his eyes were.

“You should go to sleep,” I pointed out, not even realizing I said anything. My eyes widened and I tried to not make this awkward, “Y-you look really tired.”

He only scoffed in reply and rolled his eyes, “You should stay out of other people's business.” I frowned and glared lightly at him, he didn’t need to be rude, I was just being nice!

“Sorry,” I said sarcastically. “Just trying to be a decent witch. What are you even researching?”

He raised an eyebrow like he was proving a point, before actually responding which caught me off guard, “I’ve found out about this artifact that I think could benefit the coven.”

I walked a little closer, looking over his shoulder at the book. It was some sort of gauntlet that was said to identify curses. I remember Lilith looking into the same thing, but nothing came out of it. But I was curious as to why the Golden Guard was interested in such a thing. Lilith…never really gave me a reason for why she looked into it, just gave me vague reasoning. So seeing someone else looking into the same thing, it piqued my curiosity. 

“I know what that is,” I replied, taking a seat next to the boy.

His eyes widened as he stared at me, mouth agape like he was trying to find something to say, “D-do you know where it is?” 

“Turned out to be a myth,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “Trust me, Lilith tried her hardest to find it.” 

His face fell, looking back down at the book. The picture of the gauntlet seemingly taunting him, “Th…that can’t be true. I mean, why…no.”

“If you think you can find something Lilith, one of the smartest people I know, couldn’t find, keep looking into it,” I replied. I know my words weren’t the most encouraging, but I didn’t want to give him false hope. 

“If she’s the smartest person you’ve met then you haven’t met many people, huh?” He mocked me, and I huffed.

“You literally look like you’ve got two black eyes,” I stabbed back. “I won’t take criticism from a sleep deprived teenager.” 

“Hey!” He exclaimed. “Keep my sleep habits out of this!” I let out a slight chuckle as he glared at me weakly. 

“Whatever you say, Golden Guard,” I winked teasingly. “Just, try to get some sleep tonight, yeah? Don’t need you collapsing on our mission tomorrow.” 

I stood up and went to ruffle his hair, but stopped myself. We aren’t that close, why did I even think of doing that? Before I could make my way to the exit, he spoke up, stopping me in my tracks. 

“Hunter.”

“Hm?” I hummed in a questioning tone, turning back to look at him. He didn’t fully meet my gaze as he replied.

“My…name, it’s Hunter.”

“Have a good night Hunter,” I waved before exiting. I heard a whispered ‘good night’ back before I fully exited the library. 

Our relationship shifted after that encounter. We’d still share banter like normal, but…it felt more lighthearted. Not like how we used to use each other's weaknesses as a joke. It also confused me as to why Lilith wanted me to stay away from him. If anything, I felt like it was better now that we had this strange friendship. I mean two teens in a coven that isolates you, how would we not be friends? Well besides from him being a brat…

Everything happened so fast. I didn’t get any time to wrap my head around what happened. Lilith was nearly executed before she escaped with her sister and the human. I knew about the Owl Lady being her sister, information Lilith trusted me with. I felt honored honestly. But…she left me. She left me alone in this shit hole and now I have to prove my loyalty. 

It hurt. But I couldn’t show that weakness. I know how others would use that to pick at me and get me sent to the conformatorium…or worse. I shuddered at the thought. Belos was not merciful, and now I was under hot water because of what happened. Scouts turned their back on me, I was sent on less missions. Everything I worked so hard for seemed to be for nothing. 

Hunter was appointed the new coven head, and it made me wonder if it was all premeditated. It…would make sense. Before Lilith left, she was sent on more and more missions to capture Eda and she failed each time. Belos must’ve known about them being siblings. Even though I understood her leaving, a piece of me hurt. She was one of the only people in the coven that I trusted and talked to. 

To get my mind off the pain, I worked harder. If I wasn’t on a mission, I was training. Becoming stronger. Proving myself. I didn’t talk to Hunter as much during this time. More focused on myself and ignoring my problems. 

“What do I owe this pleasure?” Hunter teased as I walked into the library. It was the place we would tend to meet. One of the only places that didn’t have a ton of people to judge us.

“Shut up,” I grumbled, not in the mood. I just wanted to find a book about stronger fire magic and study. 

“What’s got you so riled up?” He asked, eyebrows raised. Lilith flying away flashed through my mind and I squeezed my eyes shut to try and block it out. 

“I’m just busy,” I replied, half-assed. I didn’t have it in me to be mean to Hunter, at least not too much. 

I found a book that would seem to increase my knowledge, and made my way back to the table that Hunter sat at. He had his own book splayed in front of him and made some room for me. I ignored the way his stare of concern made me want to vent all my troubles. I knew he had his own problems and definitely wasn’t in a good enough mind set to handle that with the things he’s told me. And he filtered what he told me, so what he was fully dealing with was something I wouldn’t know. 

It was silent between us, which I thought would help me focus. But it didn’t. His gaze was all I could focus on. He kept glancing at me and it was making me feel nervous. I finally met his gaze and he looked away quickly, but…was there concern in his eyes?

“Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” He replied back. I shifted my gaze back to my book, not sure if I wanted to answer it truthfully or not. Did I trust him enough? Yes. But did I want to? I was iffy. 

“...no,” I replied back finally. “Because I’m sure you already know the answer.” 

He didn’t question me further, and we continued our studies in silence. But his company made me feel better. It always did for some reason. I didn’t question why, we were friends after all. But what I didn’t know was that Belos was keeping an eye on me. He didn’t like that I was learning master level spells so quickly. And the fact that I was so loyal to Lilith before, he knew that didn’t just change. He knew it was only time for me to flip and go against him. 

But like I said, I didn’t know this. All I knew was that I caught Hunter in my room. Drawers open and papers on the ground. 

“What the hell is going on?” I asked defensively. Hunter turned towards me in shock, like he’s a kid who's just been caught doing something wrong. I mean he was, technically. He quickly regained his composure and stood up straight. 

“You are being arrested for conspiracy of treason,” He said blankly. I stared at him in disbelief. 

“I’ve done no such thing,” I seethed. “You should know that more than anyone.” He didn’t reply, only reaching out to me and I knew he wasn’t joking. This wasn’t some terrible prank. Lilith was right, he was trouble, and I should’ve stayed away. I ran out the door, slamming it behind me, hoping that it gave me some time. I sprinted down the maze of halls that I knew like the back of my hand. 

Suddenly, Hunter teleported to my side and slammed me into the wall. I stumbled, but shot out a fire spell to stun him. Once I finally got up I summoned vines that wrapped around Hunter. I rushed out, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I seemed to actually have lost him, which…felt like that was a little too easy. But now my mind was focused on where to go. I can’t go to my parents, that’s probably the first place they’ll look. 

My feet led me in the direction I knew was the Owl Lady’s house. The only place I could think of was there. That’s where Lilith was, and I knew, deep down she’d accept me. I hope. Please. It was a long walk, and I hated that my mind was able to wander now. The adrenaline from before left and all I could think about was how betrayed I felt. 

Conspiracy of treason? It was obvious that it was something to do with Lilith. I mean she technically committed treason. And conspiracy of treason would mean that I planned that with her. But I didn’t. I had nothing to do with it. And Hunter knew that. He even let me explain my situation! I thought I could trust him, but I was obviously wrong.

I was surprised by the owl curse…cylinder? That I’ve only heard horror stories about. It quickly smacked me down. I was still in my coven uniform, so I didn’t blame it. But it wasn’t any less horrifying when it swallowed me whole. 

I opened my eyes, light shining brightly through my eyelids. I groaned, I felt sticky. Gross. Opening my eyes I looked around. I laid on a sleeping mat, the surroundings unfamiliar. My chest ached as I remembered what transpired before. So I must be in the Owl Lady’s house. I got up, and found the living room. There sat Lilith, what I recognized to be Eda, and the human. 

Their hushed whispers died down as they saw me enter. I was tired, sticky, and emotionally drained, I just hoped this would end well.

“Hello,” I whispered with a small wave. 

“(Y/n), what happened?” Lilith asked in worry, rushing over to me. I felt tears threaten my eyes, but after being in the Emperor’s coven, I repressed them without thought. 

“I was betrayed,” I murmured, not meeting anyones eyes. Eda stared at me with skepticism, the human was looking at me with a mix of skepticism and curiosity, while Lilith hesitantly brought me into a hug. I melted into her arms and clung onto her. I missed her so much. 

“Come on, I think you need a good shower,” She said gently. She led me to the bathroom and handed me a towel and some clothes she found laying around that no one would miss. “You can tell me when you’re ready.”

Once again, I felt like I had to prove my loyalty. They accepted me without much of a hassle. Lilith said she’d take the blame if I did anything bad, because she knew I wouldn’t. Eda nodded, agreeing to her terms. Luz didn’t even blink, accepting me with wide arms, calling us cousins since ‘Eda is my mom and Lilith is yours!’. It…was different. I was used to having to prove myself. Show my worth. Being in such a warm environment…it didn’t feel like I deserved this. All my wrongdoings in the coven that I was accustomed to…it shouldn’t be forgiven so easily. 

So I helped Eda and Luz whenever I could. I felt so accepted when I met Luz’s friends. They were skeptical at first (mainly Gus), but they also accepted me. It all felt too good to be true! And it was. Because soon the world turned to chaos. And Hunter somehow ended up joining the rag tag group I also found myself in. He even became friends with Hooty! Like what? 

I didn’t forgive him. Why should I? He ruined my entire life. Well…okay that’s dramatic. It ended up as a good thing for me. I saw the error of my ways and I’m trying to make up for everything I’ve done in that coven. But still. I will never forget the betrayal I felt that day. The fear that rushed through me as I thought everything was over. 

So I ignored him. I made sure we never were alone in the same room. It was kinda hard, since the house wasn’t that big, but I managed. I know Luz realized something must’ve happened between us. I noticed how he’d try to talk to me, but I left with the excuse of having something to do. He didn’t deserve the time of day, I reasoned to myself as guilt started to edge in the back of my mind at the hurt in his gaze when I brushed him off. 

“Hooty?” I asked, slight concern in my voice. I knew he was best friends with Lilith, which should make me feel safe, but he always unsettled me. And now he was in my room, and I knew something was up. “Did you need something?”

“Why yes I do, hoot,” Hooty hooted. “I need you! Hoot!” His cylindrical body wrapped around me and dragged me into the basement. It was terrifying. I felt bad for all the scouts that have crossed his path. A scream ripped through me at how fast the world passed by me. “You can’t leave until you two talk, byyyeeeeee hoot.”

I stumbled to the ground as Hooty dropped me. I felt dizzy from how fast that ride was. I didn’t realize what he said for a few seconds. Not until I looked up and saw Hunter standing anxiously across from me. My stomach dropped and I tried to look for an exit. I don’t think I can handle this right now. 

“P-please, just…let me at least explain why I did what I did,” Hunter spoke up quickly. “I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

I stared at him for a few seconds before sighing out. Being on edge all the time was starting to get tiring, so I agreed, somewhat reluctantly.

“B…Belos felt threatened by you,” Hunter whispered. “He…he ordered me to arrest you. That you were conspiring with Lilith to take him down. I…I believed him. It didn’t feel right, but who was I to question him? So…I went through with it. Kind of. I went to arrest you…but I couldn’t.” I let out a slight scoff, “Yeah because I stopped you.” His smile strained and he let out a forced chuckle. 

“You really think a few vines could hold me down?” He asked. I looked down at my hands. I knew if he really wanted he would have broken through and gotten to me easily. 

“I still don’t forgive you,” I muttered. “Guess you’ll just have to make it up to me.” I didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up with hope at that, and how my chest fluttered at that. 

After that talk, Hunter followed me like a lost puppy. He offered help whenever he saw fit, some being the most basic tasks. It could get annoying at times, but the sentiment was there. And it slowly warmed my heart. I couldn’t deny the flutter in my stomach as Hunter offered to help me. The way my cheeks warmed as he smiled at me with pure joy after I praised him for getting something right. 

Everyone would tease us, and it set in stone that I had feelings for the boy. I decided it was time for me to stop this charade, I felt bad knowing he only did it all because he felt I was owed it. It always made everything feel bittersweet. So I decided to bring him to my room to talk to him alone. Which didn’t go unnoticed by Luz who teased us. I tried to ignore her though as I closed the door to my room. It didn’t help me when I noticed that Hunter was blushing lightly.

“I forgive you,” I blurted out. “I…I just, feel bad that you feel obligated to do things for me now. I hope you’d be open to being friends again.”

“Would I have done any of that if I didn’t want to be friends again?” Hunter asked like I was dumb. I definitely didn’t pout at him and cross my arms like a child. “But,” He continued, turning sheepish. “I enjoy hanging out with you, and helping you out with things.” 

“Good,” I nodded, not meeting his gaze, feeling slightly flustered. “That’s, um, cool.”

“Just confess already!” Luz shouted through the door.

“Yeah! We’re all waiting for the finale, hoot!”

My eyes widened as Hunter and I looked at each other, flustered and horrified.

[chronic-reveries]

Just finished watching for the future and I have so much to say, so beware, spoilers!!! Also this is legit just some notes and comments, not a review or anything

- I love Luz’s palisman, she’s so cute :(( also I’m really excited that luz realized all she’s wanted was to be understood, because girl me too, that scene really hit hard

- I’m glad willow finally was able to cry and have the breakdown she so desperately needed, cause after seeing Gus have his in the school I really wanted to see willow have the same sort of thing, she’s overwhelmed and I’m glad she stopped bottling it up

- belos confronting caleb(?) in visions was really interesting and its nice to see the past is haunting him (cause he deserves it)

- raine being under belos’ control made me really uncomfortable- like for hunter I was just scared but this is just icky (not sure how to explain)

-hunter getting flapjacks powers was so bittersweet, and my poor boy needs heavy therapy.

-mattholomew lowkey has been super smart this whole time??? Good for him /gen

-Boscha’s desperate call for amity really put a number on me I dunno, but she’s a lot more broken than I thought

- Camila revealing that she has been a nerd the whole time was something I didn’t even know I needed to hear, she’s such a great mom and I really want to see her smack more people with a bat

- the collector is such a good antagonist, I loved seeing that he’s not just some immortal being who wants control, he’s literally just a kid with too much power for his own good, and I really hope king can help him in the finale

- EDA AND LILITH?? They changed so much it’s insane? I’m glad they haven’t lost their personality despite it all, also I’m glad we got the Lilith and hootie reconnection

- I cannot forget king, I’m glad to see he’s doing alright, definitely not ideal but at least he’s doing well enough

-I haven’t talked about amity yet cause there’s not much to say about her this episode, ALTHOUGH IM GLAD HER CHIN IN SIDE PROFILE WASNT SO AWFUL THIS TIME, man oh man was she struggling that last episode

Overall I loved the episode, the owl house is an amazing show through and through

[lampmanliveblogs]

”I must go now. My planet needs me.” -King, probably

(what's that under the collector's bed? i freaked out a little bit when I first saw it, because I thought it was philip, but nah, it looks like another stuffed animal. but can you imagine the kind of damage philip could do if he managed to possess the collector??)

As the space cherub and his island-in-training best friend take a break from their game of pretend, we cut to Boscha, who’s right in the middle of her own game of pretend. She is playing at being emperor. The school is her castle, and the gym is her throne room, complete with masked soldiers standing guard. She’s even got a special guard standing by her side, one with a shoulder pad on only one shoulder.

You know, when Kikimora said she wanted to be the new Golden Guard, I don’t think this is what she had in mind.

Because that’s Kikimora, right? It’s got to be, and the big guy is her Abomatron.

Speaking of Kikimora, I was cleaning up my desk a little while back when I found a note I had written and then completely forgot about, I think it might’ve been in response to an ask I got but never answered. The note read as thus:

”It’s ironic that Kikimora wanted to be the Golden Guard, seeing as the only privilege afforded the Golden Guard is that Belos will kill you personally, a courtesy he did not extend to Kikimora… and it came back to haunt him.” 

(except with more misspellings)

I gotta admit, as far as false names goes, Miki and Roka are kinda funny. We love a good word scramble. Actually, I don’t, I’m no good at those. This one wasn’t so hard because I knew the answer.

The thing I’m wondering though is how Kiki managed to fit that weird hand on her head under that wig.

The idea of Boscha taking them in after ”the incident” is reminiscent of the false backstory given the Golden Guard in season two.

I should probably also mention that Kiki-I’m sorry, I meant ”Miki.” When Jerbo was putting forth his plans to make things not suck for everyone, Miki interjected, saying that doing so would take up her time… and implying that without the constant protection of ”Miki” and ”Roka,” Boscha would be turned into a puppet and collected as well.

YO, is she gonna try to recreate the teleportation circle Philip used in Elsewhere and Elsewhen?!? See, I told you guys, I told you! I told you it’d be so cool if Luz or Lilith memorized it and used it, and no they’re doing it!

I mean, hopefully. Weeeeell… aside from the possibility that the teleportation circle will just outright fail (there was what, some twenty glyphs to it?), Kikimora might also have some objections. She might still have a grudge towards Hunter, for one thing. Or all the kids, for all the trouble they’ve caused her.

I dunno about you guys, but this is giving me Hollow Mind vibes. In the sense that I’m gonna spend way too long squinting at paintings in the background. I’ll be somewhat brief, because as per usual, I’ll probably get a better look at at least some of them in a sec.

Let’s see, what do we have here…

On the right side of the screen (King’s left) it appears to be mostly depictions of various space-related things. There is one with a shooting star or meteorite about to hit a planet’s surface, which might be the Collectors arriving at this world

The left side of the screen (King’s right) is where things get interesting. Going from closest to the screen to furthest away, we have…

A painting of three Collectors looking at what I assume is a depiction of the Demon Realm planet. There is a wee little collector coming up to them. This one is, aside from being smaller than the others, purple, where the others are blue. The little one is obviously supposed to be The Collector, our little Lord of the Fireflies.

The next painting shows two collectors holding and trying on Titan skulls. In the background is either a Titan, a Titan trapper, or the third collector disguised as a Titan. 

The third painting looks an awful lot like the mural we saw way back in Echoes of the Past. If we go by the ”collector dressed as a Titan” theory in the previous paragraph, then this painting might be depicting that collector in combat against a Titan. At the feet of the Titan is an egg, and we can see the head of a smaller Titan. So far, this seems to fall in line with the theory I put forth a little while ago, about the Titan Trappers worshipping not THE Collector, our Prince of Plastic, but another collector. One who gave them the idea of dressing up like their prey.

The fourth painting shows the three big collectors throwing away the littlest collector.

The fifth painting shows the little collector surrounded by baby Titans. D’aw!

The sixth… I really can’t tell, but I think I can see the three faces of the three tall collectors. Maybe it’s them leaving this planet and choosing to abandon the little one.

[deconstructthesoup]

Was just thinking (again) about how in season 1 and season 2 of The Owl House, there are clear parallels in the premiere, quarter-season, mid-season, three-quarter-season, and finale episodes, so I thought I'd break them down

Premieres: A Lying Witch And A Warden/Separate Tides:

The "do not underestimate me/now eat this, sucka" speech is said at the very beginning, followed by an immediate tone shift (ALWAAW has the scene from the Good Witch Azura that leads into it being Luz doing her book report, ST has Luz facing off against Garlog before it being revealed that he's just a tiny gremlin)

Luz and King go on a dangerous mission together (ALWAAW has them sneak in and steal the crown, ST has them chase after the Selkiedomous)

"Us weirdos have to stick together" is said (you guys know the context)

We meet and fight a member of the Emperor's Coven, who kinda deviate from our expectations (Warden Wrath turns out to have a thing for Eda and is later revealed to be kinda sad, The Golden Guard is shown to have a cocky side and is later revealed to be... well, Hunter)

Quarter-Seasons: Covention/Through The Looking Glass Ruins

Cool lore details are revealed about the academic side of the Isles (Covention shows the Hexside kids working to join covens, TTLGR shows how cutthroat Glandus students are)

The clear flaws in the coven system and how magic is viewed are addressed (Covention shows how high-status the EC is, how the covens seal away your magic, and how Amity's need to succeed is wearing down on her, TTLGR shows the stigma around illusionists and how physical magic is valued over others)

The "show don't tell" rule is applied with a character who's been called strong showing off just how powerful they are (Eda and Lilith show off an incredible amount of skill in Covention, Gus goes full horror movie in TTLGR)

Lumity milestone (Luz and Amity reach an understanding in Covention and see a different side of each other, TTLGR has the cheek kiss)

Mid-Season (Escape of the Palisman/Yesterday's Lie)

Luz has to reckon with a mistake that she made and faces the consequences (EOFP sees her recklessness cause Owlbert to get hurt and she has to jump through hurdles to make it up to him, YL sees her finally tell her mother the truth and see how her leaving really did have consequences)

Very sad lore about a seemingly scary demon is revealed (The Bat Queen is shown to protect the lost Palismen due to having forgotten and lost her last owner, Vee shows a different side of the basilisks and tells Luz how they were made and experimented on)

Three-Quarter-Season (Understanding Willow/Hollow Mind)

A mishap leads to Luz and another character venturing into another character's mind (UW has Luz and Amity go into Willow's so they can fix the fire damage, HM has Luz and Hunter go into Belos's mind by mistake after the CAT plan fails)

The person's Inner Self initially manifests as something else (Willow's Inner Self is a fire monster at first before being revealed to just be overtaken by anger, Belos's inner self pretends to be a lost child before... yeah)

HUGE character-specific lore is revealed that completely changes the game (Amity shows us just how bad her home life is and how her parents pressured her into ditching Willow, Hunter finds out that he's a Grimwalker and Luz finds out that Belos is Philip and he's working with The Collector)

Finales (Young Blood, Old Souls/King's Tide)

The "with this spell declared" motif comes back (Lilith splits the curse in YBOS, Eda uses it to tell her she'll be all right in KT)

Eda nearly dies and loses a part of herself (petrification and loss of magic in YBOS, draining spell and loss of arm in KT)

Luz and Belos fight and Luz not only gets a hit in but thinks her way out of a situation (YBOS has Luz hitting Belos in the eye and cracking his mask, as well as double-crossing him with the portal, KT has her insult his fashion sense and brand him with the seal)

The portal is destroyed (you know how that shakes down)

[charizardstolemynickname]

Season 3 episode 2 reaction babyyyy!! Part 1 (i hope of 2)

I will just go straight into this, AH

NO ARE WE STARTING WITH THIS SCENE!? FUCK YOU, I CAN'T HOLD BACK TEARS FROM KING'S FINAL WORDS ANYMORE

Lilith using hooty as a form of jetpack is making me laugh, I am sorry. BUT LILITH I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE OKAY, I love you dearly YOU TOO HOOTY. God what a way to start the episode. I assume it will be the counter pov to the Human Realm. So I think it will be Eda, King, Collector, Lilith and Hooty pov? OO that's fun! And it will have ep3 as the final, both sides reunited?

HOOTY NO! LILITH! COLLECTOR KIDDO, NOT COOL, DON'T DO THAT, GODDDDDD WHERE DID YOU PUT THEM!?

RAINE IS ALIVE! Hallelujah! I was getting worried they would die because they used their last bit of energy saving Eda, BUT EDA AND RAINE LIVE ON!

HARPY EDA IS BACK LADIES, GENTLEMEN AND OTHER GUESTS! SHE IS BACK AND RAINE IS SMITTEN!

God no, the curse, shit, well nobody thinks to plan emergency potions when the world IS LITERALLY BEING RIPPED APART, fair enough

Oh woah, Luz is in this episode, huh, well that's funky! Well there goes my idea, but damn, I am excited. MAYBE TIME WORKS DIFFERENTLY IN DIFFERENT REALMS, oo

"This Mama is hungry for vengeance!" "Now THAT is a fight I'd watch" took the words out of my mouth Gus, HELL YEAH, GO KICK BELOS' BUTT CAMILA

.....Okay, LISTEN, "The collector is evil blah blah" YEAH, well, maybe not, BUT THEY HAVE DONE BAD ACTIONS... However this version of bonesborough looks cool! Well, not cool, maybe nostalgic? Reminds me of children's lullabies, SO I LIKE IT!

Turning people into dolls tho, that's bad

Belos! Always lovely to see your.... slimey, gross, figure! But lets not kill innocent butterflies, alright pal? And damn, you get hallucinations of your brother? Also this feels like common sense BUT DON'T CLONE YOUR BROTHER WHO YOU MIGHT HAVE KILLED?! LIKE THAT DAGGER LOOKS VERY LIKE YOU KILLED HIM WITH IT PHILIP!

My guy starts melting and says "I need a new body", like just deal with it, humans only get 1 body, stop getting several! Leave some for the rest of us. damn.

Camila, Gus and Willow just having a conversation trying to find the best way to support Luz awakened something inside of me, especially the "He wasn't disappointed in me, but I didn't want to fail him" LIKE DAMN, WHO IS SPYING ON MY LIFE TO MAKE THIS TOO DAMN RELATABLE

"Don't worry about me, like Gus said, I'm the reliable one" 1) AGAIN, WHO IS SPYING ON ME and 2) I have heard that one before Willow AND I KNOW YOU ARE 1 MORE "Are you okay?" AWAY FROM SOBBING, its okay Willow bestie, you can cry too

I hope we find out what Luz's Palisman hatches too soon, I am wayyyyyyyy too impatient for this, I AM DESPERATE

THEY GOT MATCHING JUMPERS AND HOOTY GOT A MATCHING BOWTIE?! FUCKKKKKK, nobody touch me, I am sensitive right now, GOD this found family is so important to me!!

"I will find Eda and King, no matter how long it takes" "ITS EDA AND KING" fucking hell Hunter way to ruin the adventure (/j) (Yes I did start laughing when Hunter said that)

..........Okay, erm. Well. Collector. I see what you have done. And, I question your methods! As this feels like, idk, maybe a tad illegal and morally wrong? Idk though might be wrong, but turning people into dolls is erm.. less quirky and more, wrong.

......................Okay. Right. I DON'T THINK MASS CONTROLLING EVERYONE TO PLAY PRETEND WHILST YOU BE A HERO IS VERY MORALLY GOOD EITHER! Listen, I get the urge to play hero and so and so, I did that as a kid! WITH DOLLS! WHO WERE ALWAYS, DOLLS! NOT HUMANS! God, you truly are a kid, you would be like, 5 in the human realm. WHERE IS YOUR MUM!?! DAD?! PARENTS?!

Fucking Plant Lady Coven head having to play Eda and (seems to be) the only one not controlled by the Collector and not be a doll, is fucking hilarious, 10/10

"Eda has a more, cool-aunt vibe, who pretends to be all cold-hearted but actually cares a lot" SEE, THANK YOU COLLECTOR, THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING SINCE DAY 1

Oh! Well. Most directors when they don't like the actors just fire them, but you do you Collector!

CAMILA ALSO JUST LOOKING AT KING AND LOVING HIM IS SO REAL, I adore him too Camila, don't you worry

WOAH ALL THE STUDENTS ARE OKAY?! Damn. That's one good school. Well, apart from the 2 that didn't. And all the staff went. BUT STILL, poor kids though. THEY ARE JUST KIDS. Also damn, we start to like Bump and that poor guy hasn't had a break since

...I don't even want to talk about that "man-tholomule" joke

THE BUMP STATUE IS THE GREATEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN, 10/10 Bump and Eda would approve, "Princy Bump"

ED MY PAL, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, "not empty! There were rocks at the bottom!" God I missed you Ed

Talk about being haunted by your past, damn Belos, you've killed a lot of people bro, oh and "Oh shut up!" IS NOT A GOOD RESPONCE TO SEEING THE GHOSTS OF WHO YOU HAVE KILLED. it is funny tho.

AMITY'S MUM!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE. God, you really have 0 morals huh. YOU ARE ACTING AS THE COLLECTOR'S MUM!?! Listen I know your kids hate you BUT YOU DIDN'T NEED TO REPLACE THEM WITH A BEING WHO IS TRYING TO DESTROY ALL WITCHES IN A WEIRD WAY!

"Clean the planet and scorch the air" Well that might be useful later!

I will ignore ALL of the corruption happening at Hexside right now BUT HOOTY! AND RAINE! AND EDA! AND DARIUS! AND- Yeah I'll stop now BUT YEAH

EDA THANK GOD YOU AREN'T A WEIRD DOLL, and sweetie, I get wanting to visit your partner BUT YOU'VE GOTTA STAY SAFE! All the coven heads (except plant lady) Being weird security now? Kinda cool! Confusing, but cool!

WOAH LILITH! WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING A DOLL?!... And no longer being ginger, and having long hair? I am very confused BUT HAPPY YOU AREN'T A DOLL!

....Okay I know they are probably comedic relief BUT LILITH AND HOOTY'S FRIENDSHIP IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME OKAY!

"With her real family" HUSH EDA, YOU ARE APART OF THAT REAL FAMILY

"You are actually a great leader" "Did you have ever have any doubt in your mind?" "Yes. Many many doubts" fucking mood Gus, you always get the greatest lines. I am stealing this

WOAH BELOS MY PAL, I get that your "grow your own clone" guy wasn't ready yet, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU STEAL RAINE'S BODY YOU PRICK

.....Don't say that about Flapjack HE IS STILL ALIVE, HE WILL MAKE IT.... RIGHT?!

I knew you were 1 step away from a breakdown Willow, I have been on that path don't you worry

AND I JUST REALISED I WENT OVER HALF THE EPISODE AND THIS IS A REALLY LONG POST SO, part 2 in like, half an hour

[blackautmedia]

Hey about your TOH post, I was just wondering; do you think Hunter is an inherently badly written character? Given what you said about him in that post I was just curious.

This is the post, for anyone who needs the context.

To your question, not at all! I do think Hunter is a continuation of a larger pattern within ToH's priorities, but I don't think it's an issue specific to him nor do I think it's fair to single him out.

Owl House Spoilers below:

On one hand, one of the most compelling and frankly terrifying things about Hunter is the abuse from Belos, right? There's a uniquely cruel type of evil it takes to clone a child out of your brother (who you murdered), attempting to mold them into a specific kind of person based on what you projected onto some entirely separate guy, and then repeatedly kill them when they don't meet your expectations.

Hunter is also wolf kid autism and I respect that.

But there's a broader pattern in the Owl House that seeks to portray what is essentially colonial/white supremacist violence perpetuated on the Boiling Isles but also is constantly trying to assure the viewer that the largely white characters who perpetuate it were just being "tricked" or manipulated into it.

So I think Hunter contributes to that, but it's not singular to him nor it is it something inherent to his character. It's more just the broader commentary the show paints.

We're introduced to the Emperor's coven who are basically cops, but unlike most TV cops are far more accurate to actual police. They don't do anything beneficial to society, they aren't there to protect or help people but instead enact violence to silence and remove people who refuse to comply with the Emperor's will, brand people with sigils, or based on the season 1 finale outright kill several people.

Then when the show starts to discuss Lilith unlearning her harmful beliefs at the start of season 2, particularly the fact that she was one of the biggest mouthpieces responsible for propagandizing the Boiling Isles, she's shooed out of the story to make room for other white characters following the same pattern.

Steve was a background joke character and then gets a subplot in one of the later episodes where he decides he doesn't believe in the cop system anymore.

Alador spends most of the series abusing his children and manufactures weapons that further aid said cops only for him to come around at the very end of the series.

Even with the collector, he's obviously manipulated by Belos, but there's also the way he's unintentionally partially responsible for the day of unity.

I feel the intent is likely to illustrate "it's not too late to change" which taken alone is fine. But I also feel it doesn't mesh very well with the portrayal of colonial violence in the series in how it continually tries to assure the viewer that they were just tricked.

There's an obvious and continual commentary on the role of parents and authority figures and the ways they fail children as well as the way institution propped up by the same people shape our lives. That's all a reasonable reading, but I feel it doesn't fully contend with how violent the society is.

The biggest exceptions come in the likes of Odalia, Terra, and Belos to illustrate that not everyone will change. But at the same time, that constant assurance undermines it a bit to me in how a lot of people who support these things are more like Odalia than they're willing to admit.

I can think of more than a few examples of literature, film, and TV series that have the same underlying narrative of portraying racism and white supremacist violence, but also prioritize portraying white innocence and benevolence in a positive light to ease the discomfort in seeing that.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Help, The Blind side, and Hidden Figures are a few examples that come to mind. These are all stories very explicitly about racism and even have the similar "Belos/Odalia/Terra" style characters, but they don't exist as a form of critical introspection and are more easy people to watch from a distance.

It's not as big a deal when it's one or two people, but I feel it's more a priorities issue than an individual person who causes it.

[lollytea]

Do you think any of Toh's characters will die? Like for example Hunter, Eda, Lilith or Raine

Honestly? No. I don't believe any of them are going to die. I'm almost certain of it. I mean, Belos is absolutely getting slaughtered and it's possible some side characters will be offed but characters like the main kids, Eda, Lilith and Raine, absolutely not. There is no way. Because I just don't think any of those deaths would be narratively satisfying.

There's a ton of reason why I don't think Eda will die, like how she's struggled through so much already. Her breakup with Raine, hurting her father, her estrangement from her sister. All direct results of her curse. But now? She has made great strides in embracing the owlbeast as a part of her, she's reunited with Raine, she's reconciled with Dell, she's adopted King as her son. Eda's arc has gradually branched out into a series of open paths, of things she had once lost finally being possible for her again. Like her story is not complete, its just finally turning in a more postive direction for her. Such a hopeful culmination of things is not gonna lead to her being killed off in the end.

Not to mention that Luz, Eda and King are the heart and soul of this show. It's always gonna come down to the three of them. So wouldn't it just feel wrong if, after everything they've been through together, they don't all come out of this alive? And if Eda dies, how would that effect them? Those kids would never ever be the same. That wouldn't feel right either, would it? A terrible ending for Eda is a terrible ending for them too because their stories are all intertwined. Like c'mon haven't they done ENOUGH to King? Now they gonna turn him into an orphan? Nah.

I suppose I could picture Lilith being the one to die but also I dont think she will. I'd find it a lot more tangible if it weren't for the season 1 finale. Lilith has already made her sacrifice, in sharing half the burden of Eda's curse. And then in Titan Where Art Thou, its shown that she's only now beginning to recognize the deep rooted effects of her cult indoctrination and the idea of therapy is tossed around.

Lilith is nowhere near full recovery. She still has so much left to learn. So I feel like the most logical and poignant ending for her would be to move on with her new historian life, begin to understand the extent of her trauma and learn to forgive herself, all while holding on to the consequence of her actions, as the owlbeast inside her will always be a reminder. Forgive but not forget. However, I do think Lilith will have an important role to play in the finale, probably for Eda's sake. I don't think Lilith will die but I'm pretty sure she's gonna put her life on the line.

There is so much about Raine that screams possible death, considering how they've dedicated themself to this rebellion and are willing to do anything to achieve their goal. Raine definitely has Selfless Hero Who Dies For A Cause vibes. But my main reason for believing that Raine will survive is like. You know Dana Terrace was treated like shit by Disney because of her efforts to include LGBT characters and relationships in her show, something that most likely led to them inevitably pulling the plug on it. So like. You really think she's gonna look at Raine, the first explicitly nonbinary character on Disney Channel and say "Yeah I'm gonna kill them." Get outta here. I absolutely do not believe in that "lgbt people should tell stories of lgbt characters having happy endings for the sake of being good representation." Idea at all. But like. In this case? It is a show for children. Raine's relationship with Eda is absolutely groundbreaking and I think Dana and the crew understand the impact a happy healthy bi trans relationship would be for kids to see.

Hunter? Like OH MY GOD. Hunter's death would be such godawful writing that I'm reeling just thinking about it. Remember the build up to Hollow Mind airing? Everyone was dreading it. We were SCARED because we knew what was going to happen. We knew Hunter was going to learn the truth. But like. Truthfully we were all shaking with excitement. We wanted this. We all knew that this was something Hunter needed to know, we understood that it was crucial to his story. And it absolutely tore everyone's heart out but it was a cathartic kind of tragedy, wasn't it? It wasn't just hurting Hunter for the hell of it. Hollow Mind meant something.

Would killing Hunter mean anything? Like anything at all? Ever since Hunting Palismen, it has been repeatedly established who Hunter is. A severely mistreated and brainwashed boy. But there was always so much hope for him. He was never perceived as a villain who needed a redemption arc, just an abused, love starved kid who needed someone to care about him. He has always wanted a future, he has always wanted to live.

What message would we learn from Hunter dying? That ultimately there was never any point in him attempting to escape his terrible life and build a new happy one from scratch because In the end, despite all his efforts to live, his abuser kills him? That Hunter was never supposed to break this violent cycle of grimwalkers and was always destined to meet the same fate? That his whole story was all for nothing? Man that sounds like an extremely shitty and cynical ending after everything he's gone through.

I think, at its core, Owl House has always been a story about family, hope, healing and deciding your own fate. All of the characters mentioned here have one or more of these themes woven into their arcs. I don't think killing any of them off would be in the spirit of what the show represents and I absolutely do not believe that TOH crew are going to take them away from us.

[mdhwrites]

Given your issues with Owl House, may as well ask how you'd improve things by characer. Starting with Luz, how would you have improved her arc?

I really just want to go "Read my books" to this. Or read my fanfics. This is mostly because, as I've said multiple times before... There's not really fixing TOH. It's flawed at a basic level but those flaws are also very much so part of its identity.

I wish I could use Luz as the example but she's actually simple. Just do what S1 did and DON'T have an arc for her. No, the big example here... is Eda. After all, S1 and S2 Eda are effectively different characters who serve very different roles, even if neither one ends up doing a lot or really spending the amount of time they should with Luz. They are still mostly incompatible, let alone as written which doubles down on the issues.

You have Criminal Eda in S1 who is lazy, uncaring, doesn't know what a fucking hug is, and frankly seems like she'd rather just expire in a ditch than have to try at this point. Then you have Momma Eda who is the most caring mom you could ask for, a gentle soul who would really just like to retire and genuinely fears the EC and Belos and rebellion? Who would be crazy enough to do that?

One is motivated purely by greed, the other motivated purely by her kids and others. And the transition is, to put it mildly, not great since Eda's first act that's selfless with Luz is getting her into Hexide and then the two DON'T MEANINGFULLY INTERACT until the season finale. I guess you could also include her teaching Luz in Adventure in the Elements but Eda is mostly a gag character in that and also she's literally just doing what she agreed to in the FIRST EPISODE. It's not a good arc and to fix it would require more time spent between Eda and Luz, if it even could be fixed.

And this highlights the two issues with 'fixing' any character in TOH: The first is time. While I don't excuse the writing of TOH by the shortening, we do know how long they had. How much room to wiggle. So if a character just straight up needed extra time to be fixed, like Willow, then what do you cut? Which characters in effect do you cut, despite the fact that Eda and King already hemorrhaged screen time in S2 for the sake of Hunter, Lilith, Lumity, etc. especially screen time with Luz. You could cut some of the unnecessary episodes like Thems the Breaks but how quickly does the tone of the show genuinely become grim all the time instead of ever having levity?

The second problem is just that... What side do you pick? To do both sides, you need time. You don't have that. Character arcs BLEED time. This is why the only major character arcs in Avatar (not to say the others don't grow) are Zuko's and arguably Sokka, though Sokka's is mostly dealt with in S1 as far as real change goes. That's why you have to be willing as a writer to just choose what's important, who's important and who gets the most character work.

But if you only have to pick one, what about the repercussions of losing the other? Momma Eda is sweet and sympathetic and you can root for her to get back with Raine and give kind advice to Luz. Crime Eda is more fun and more capable for adventure storytelling but also could get very tiresome from the fact that she's still just a bit of a shit bag who mocks 80% of Luz's interests. Either way, you're going to lose parts of Eda that someone likes and your version will come off as potentially worse to those people than the one in canon just because canon has the part they like.

And I'll give Dana credit on this: Eda's Requiem was her first solo episode and it's the only one that actually balances the two into a new form rather than bouncing between them in Changing Tides, or just having the criminal side be GONE like in Echos of the Past. With a more empathetic heart, she starts helping wild witches and others with her criminal skills instead- Oh, wait, no, she's doing it just for Raine because we literally never see her seek such things out herself or anything like that. It's still mostly just about her and those she already has an invested interest.

But the fact that we see a glimpse of the better form of Eda, just like how Adventure in the Elements shows us what Amity could have been, or the scene of Hunter revealing his name showing us what could have been with Hunter, is part of why this question is rough. Like the rest of TOH, there are good ideas behind these characters.

And just like the rest of TOH, the writers robbed us of those better versions because they lost interest and moved on to elements they were more interested in. Forgot what they had setup so they could just fully transition into the narrative cudgels that were required of the characters.

So you want to fix them? Look at what you liked... And put them in a better story and in better hands.

==========

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[sepublic]

Official Trailer Plot Analysis!

            All right! I think I figured the general plot from here!

         The Collector has King read him a bedtime story, our way of exposition in a short timeframe like the montage from Thanks to Them! We learn that the Collectors preserve life, probably in scrolls, and destroy all who oppose them. Obviously the Titans did this and both sides were wiped out, with our Collector and King as orphans of war. Our Collector has scribbled in his book that he’d prefer to play with everyone as toys, rather than just leave them lying around like with the Owl Beast. Perhaps King’s dad saw this and spared the Collector via mere imprisonment, only to be killed before he could free him afterwards.

         We cut to Luz and co., who stumble across the Owl House since we last saw it in O Titan, Where Art Thou! The isles seems just deserted but intact… Eventually they head to Bonesborough, which LOOKS normal but empty, until they reunite with Barcus and Skara! The two explain what’s happened and how Hexside is a place for everyone to hide…

         BUT WUH-OH! The Collector shows up, converting the place to their own aesthetic! Hunter protects Willow and our kids escape, and King and Luz probably see each other for the first time in forever!

         The kids are led to Hexside where Mattholomule and the others are. In order to infiltrate the Collector’s palace above the Titan’s skull (the area now renovated to their liking), Luz remembers the glyph combo Philip used to teleport there. They search through her memories using the magic tweezers to copy it down, and Camila potentially sees she was a fear of Luz’s at one point and reflects…

         Meanwhile, we see Belos finding his old cave hideaway from when he was Philip. After feasting on a magical butterfly to refuel, he’s likely got his own backups to handle with the Collector, and possibly using the same glyph combo from before! Maybe he forgot and needs to check other notes that weren’t his mouse-devoured journal?

         The Collector, alas, makes it to Hexside and turns the adults into puppets. The kids escape through an underground route inside the Detention Pit monster, but come into conflict, possibly against the Titan Trappers and/or puppets. Note that Luz is using a glyph, so she hasn’t unlocked her staff yet probably.

         Our kids eventually make it outside, and at this point Luz’s egg hatches, possibly due to Camila seeing the Grom memory and talking to Luz about how she’s accepted no matter what home she chooses. The excited kids practice a brief session of Flyer Derby so Luz can get the hang of things… The area might be near where Belos is currently hidden in his cave. Maybe the kids realize they don’t need the glyph combo because they can just fly, and mayhaps Hunter and Camila got Skara and someone else’s staff to do so.

         Hooty is turned into a puppet while Lilith mourns, possibly on a rescue mission for King! Either way he ends up with King as a puppet, while Eda is confronted by the Coven Heads (sans Terra) who have been transformed! Was she imprisoned as the Owl Beast, only for King to bring her back to normal with his squeal of rage? Or was King put in timeout by the Collector?

        Mother and son make it outside, and this is where the Collector confronts Eda, prompting her Harpy mode to become more Owl Beast. We can guess this happens at the end because King’s scar is gone, possibly due to his powers emerging?

[snortlaughs]

getting to know each other

fandom: the owl house

pairing: none! please don’t tag as ship!

characters included: ler!amity, lee!hunter

word count: 1,601

genre: fluff!

warnings: none

author’s note: in this fic, hunter is still the golden guard, but he is basically a double agent and tells the owl family what belos is doing so they can prepare to retaliate if needed. basically, he and the owl family are buddies — thus, why he’s hanging out at the owl house!

amity and hunter sat on opposite sides of the big, worn-out sofa in the living room of the owl house, looking away from each other.

they were doing their own things; amity was messing around on her scroll, and hunter had just lulled flapjack to sleep in luz’s bedroom.

flapjack lived with luz for a while before she found hunter, so she feels the most comfortable resting in her bedroom.

anyways, amity and hunter were the only two people in the house — luz, king, lilith, and eda went out to the night market to get apple blood, and hooty was sleeping.

they were the two kids who still didn’t really get along. hunter and the the owl family were cool now, but the same couldn’t be said for him and amity.

he did fight her… and took the portal key from her when she was just trying to help him…

urgh…

hunter massaged his temple with his pointed finger and thumb. he was going to get a headache if he thought about that any more.

he felt guilty, but he was never going to say that.

electronic beeps came from amity’s scroll every few minutes, and she giggled like a child every time.

texts from luz, of course.

hunter rolled his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest.

“you see her every day, blight. i doubt what she’s texting you is so cute that you need to squeal constantly,” he huffed.

amity growled as her cheeks warmed up with embarrassment.

“shut up, man. you don’t know what it’s like to date someone! every time they text, it feels super exciting! it’s worth squealing about.”

hunter looked towards the purple-haired witch and then the rug on the floor.

“you don’t know that i don’t know what it’s like to date someone,” he said quietly, shifting uncomfortably at his own comment.

“oh~?” amity said, her ears perking up as she looked at the blonde boy on the other end of the couch. “well, do you?”

crap.

poor move, hunter.

“um… no, not actua—”

before the poor kid could even finish his sentence, amity burst out into a fit of laughter.

“i knew it! i kneeeew it~!” she teased as the boy’s face and ears turned red.

“you didn’t know anything!” he whined, burying his face into his palms. “i was just saying that you couldn’t have known before i told you! you don’t know anything about me!”

amity wiped a tear of mirth from her eye and put her scroll down on one of the orange sofa cushions, preparing herself for what she was about to say.

“you know what? i don’t really know much about you. you’re right. do you wanna ask each other questions and get to know eachother a little…?”

she turned her head away when hunter looked up at her, a baffled expression on his face.

“are you being serious…?” he asked, slight hesitation in his voice.

amity still didn’t look back at him, but nodded.

“…why?” hunter said inquisitively, readjusting his position on the couch. a small crease had formed where he was leaning into his spot, which made him slouch a little.

“because luz forgave you. eda forgave you. they all forgave you…” amity started, meeting hunters eyes. “i think i’m ready to, as well.”

she abruptly realized how serious she sounded and quickly added an extra sentiment to the end:

“i still think you’re a huge idiot, though.”

hunter chuckled.

he sounded a bit… relieved, actually.

“yeah, i’d like to get to know you a bit better.” he said, a toothy grin appearing on his scarred face. “also, you’re a huger idiot!”

amity playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

“i’m going to pretend you didn’t say that and just start asking you questions. let’s take turns.”

hunter nodded in agreement and stuck a thumb up.

“okay, sooo… oh, okay, i have one! what’s your favorite thing about your palisman?” amity asked, scooching towards hunter so she could see and hear him more clearly.

hunter’s eyes lit up when she asked him this.

“what a good question! there’s so much that i love about flapjack! but i think that my favorite thing is that she’s just a really good friend. she was here with me when i didn’t have a whole lot of people by my side.”

flapjack twittered happily from another room in the owl house.

he nodded after he finished talking, as if he was proud of his answer.

“aww, that’s really nice,” amity said, smiling at the sweetness of hunter’s words. “but now it’s my turn! my turnnnn~!”

hunter dramatically sighed with feigned annoyance.

“fine, fine! calm down! ummm… let me think… oh! what’s your favorite azura book?”

amity gasped at his question, which seemed to surprise him. nobody ever talked to her about azura besides luz!

“ohhhh! book two, for sure. it’s probably one of the worse books in the series, to be honest. it just has sentimental value, so i love it anyway!”

hunter made a noise of what amity thinks was agreement before she asks her next question.

the question.

“okay, ummm… oh, oh! are you ticklish?”

hunter felt his heart skip a beat. however, his nervousness didn’t show on the outside at all.

he didn’t know how he managed to stay so composed, but he did.

thank titan.

“no, i-i’m not.”

his voice cracked piercingly, which completely blew his not-ticklish cover.

NO.

“i thanked the titan too soon…” he thought, beads of sweat pricking at his forehead.

amity raised her eyebrows and couldn’t help but smile.

“you don’t sound too sure about that,” she said bluntly.

hunter took a second to focus on his voice in an effort to make sure that it didn’t come out… like that… again.

“i am sure about it!” he said with fake confidence in his voice, hoping that he sounded convincing enough that amity would believe his ruse.

“i’m the golden guard! the golden guard doesn’t have a weakness as futile as tickling!”

amity scooted a bit closer to hunter and put her hand on his shoulder, which was enough to make him jump. he was lucky that he didn’t giggle at her touch — he could already feel the anticipation in the air.

“okay, sure, the golden guard isn’t ticklish. but is hunter…?”

he didn’t expect to hear that question. his eyes widened, but he said nothing.

“wellll~?” amity cooed. “is he?”

hunter grunted and turned his head away from the witch beside him.

he was in too deep to lie.

“maybe a little.”

amity’s expression grew more excited by the second, unable to control her smiling at the idea of getting this kid to crack and enjoy himself a bit.

“only a little?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “we’ll see about that.”

hunter’s “i’m only a little ticklish!” claim was instantaneously debunked when amity pounced onto him and skittered her fingers into his ribs, resulting in immediate belly-laughter and lots of thrashing.

not thrashing hard enough to make her stop, though — despite the fact that he was definitely strong enough to physically make her stop moving her stealthy hands.

amity noticed this, and tucked it into the back of her mind for later.

“AHHH! blihihihight!” he said through hiccup-filled laughter. “plehehease! nohohohoooo!”

his eyes squinted shut when he laughed, and his face, ears, and neck were a bright red color. the gap in between his front teeth was on show as his giggles continue to bubble out.

his smile was so youthful, despite all of his hardships.

“‘ple-hee-hee-heease!’ you sound like a little kid when you plead like that!” amity teased meanly. “what are you even begging for~? do you want more tickles, perhaps…?” the limber girl said, moving her hands up the helpless boy’s ribs and towards his underarms.

her fingers stopped on his top ribs; it seemed as if his underarms were going to have to be the final act. going near them, even a little, made him screech.

he snorted and laughed uncontrollably, rendered completely unable to hide any of his reactions to this tickle monster’s torturous touch.

“NOHOHOOOO! (snort) I DOHOHOHON’T!” he cried. “I— (wheeze) I—”

“you what~?” amity giggled, completely unphased by his intense reactions to her tickling tactics. “use your words!”

hunter shook his head roughly in response; he felt as if he had melted into a puddle.

“I CAHAHAN—”

his sentence was abruptly cut off with loud, colorful laughter when amity finally struck under his arms, his death spot.

he was now completely incapable of articulate thought; all he could think about was how much everything tickled.

once hunter’s laughter eventually went from intense snorts to silent wheezes, amity finally let up.

hunter laughed and laughed, even after amity had finished.

“why didn’t you stop me? you totally could have.” amity said, resting her back against her side of the sofa once again. “i think you may have had some fun with that, golden guard.”

too tired to be sassy, hunter nodded and looked at amity.

“yeah, that was nice. but don’t tell anyon—”

however, amity was already speedily typing a text to luz about how ticklish hunter was.

hunter immediately knew what she was doing, and, despite his wobbly knees, quickly crawled over to her side of the sofa and tried to grab the scroll out of her hand.

but, to no avail.

amity lightly poked hunter’s side and wiggled her finger a bit, which immediately made him lose his balance.

“SENT~!”

needless to say, the owl family saw hunter’s genuine smile and heard hunter’s genuine laugh a lot that night.

[sukunasbabygirl]

I've been binging on this blog cause I love your concept soooo much!

Vut what my mind is stuck on is that

A)Since Hunter had Camila and Luz in his life early on, how would he had turned out?

B)Lilith being the temporary empress of the isles while Belos was away. Talk about awkward with Eda.

Plus soft side (belos probably was helpful with history homework)

Crying because I wrote a bunch of paragraphs for this ask but tumblr died on me and I lost it all. This response will be shorter than the original one was unfortunately, but also I’m glad you enjoy the AU! It’s really fun to explore all these concepts!

A) It depends a lot on his company. He spent a lot of his childhood being bullied for his appearance, namely his ears, and he watched as Luz was rejected multiple times by people who thought she was too weird or too loud. Because of this he’s developed a very protective persona, surrounding himself in stone to prevent any more hurt, and so he can protect Luz. He sees it as his duty, being her older brother and all.

He has fears of rejection and abandonment still, and fears of being a burden. He portrays himself as more responsible when around Camila and Philip, just to prove he’s capable of looking after himself and worth keeping around. It doesn’t always last long though, especially around Camila who knows how to get him to lighten up. Luz especially gets to see the real side of him. He’s kind at heart, with a strong desire to protect people, even those he dislikes if they are in danger, and he’s a curious kid too. He’s fascinated by the history of the town and the witch trials that took place throughout the colonies. He’s also fascinated by the world around him and gets himself into a lot of messes when he goes at exploring the woods, Luz at his side usually.

He’s got even more older brother energy than in canon, which he has a lot of that even then, it’s just this time it’s paired with headlocks, affectionate hair ruffles, the iconic “Hey! Only I get to call my sister that!” Kind of sibling energy. Occasionally he does have to confirm with Luz that they aren’t actually insulting each other because he does struggle a lot with tone.

——

B) Lilith as temporary stand-in empress is both a funny concept and also an ‘Oh God’ one. She is trying to call the shots but it’s hard when you’re partnered with Kikimora who’s basically pulling all the strings and your only form of communication with The Emperor is a weird shadow child that keeps annoying you on purpose.

Kikimora is more eager to catch Eda so she can impress The Emperor upon his return, meanwhile Lilith is dragging it out as much as she can, besides it’s not like he’s given them direct orders to capture her yet.

I really want to design her an Empress Outfit at some point. If you’re going to be a stand-in you may as well look the part. Kikimora wouldn’t like it all because she wants to be the one recognised for Lilith’s achievements, but she’s also aware that the public adores Lilith and wouldn’t take kindly to her harsher approaches.

The Temporary Empress and The Owl Lady, what crimes shall they commit? Who knows.

——

On the soft side - yeah! Philip may not know much American history in terms of anything 1700s and onwards, but you ask him anything about the 1600s colonies? He’ll probably have an answer. He’s spent an hour before just lying beside the kids as they write essays (I’m not sure how history is taught in America so I’m just going off what we did for history homework) or fill in question sheets about the early colonies etc. When there’s a special project for Gravesfield history he’s especially knowledgable, something they chalk down to him working at the museum. Whenever he has facts that seem a little too detailed, they just assume maybe he’s seen diary entries at work, I mean that is what he does for a living, and then they never question it again.

[theprinceandthewitch]

Okay so I just want to talk about my thoughts on Hunter=Hecate, this isn't going to be an in-depth kind of thing because... I'd go crazy researching all the stories surrounding this goddess and trying to find out how much of this goddess influenced Hunter's character lol:

I honestly think Hecate (the character in Luz's favorite book series) is supposed to represent both Amity AND Hunter.

She represents Amity appearance-wise while she has more symbolism with Hunter.

So, I don't know how much they know about the Goddess Hecate, I do think that they AT LEAST know she is a triple-formed goddess. Because they use a statue of three identical women looking in three directions as the "caster" of the petrification spell. Some sources say these directions are the past, present, and future other sources say she is looking in all directions of a crossroad.

But yeah... I don't see how this character ISN'T supposed to represent Amity AND Hunter.

First of all - Hecate is an extremely specific name - it's not as broad as Azura. It's... the name of a literal goddess. So if they picked such an extremely specific name - I'm going to look at the sybolism of this character.

On a symbolic level - Hunter fits her more than Amity does. Amity isn't "three formed" like Hunter is:

He's the prince of TBI, this isn't going to stop being a thing just because he wanted to dodge accountability before Flapjacks death pushed him to return to the demon realm. It also doesn't change once everything on TBI goes back to normal just because he's a teenager. People will expect a member of the royal family that attempted genocide to give reparations.

He's a clone of a person who was a relative of Belos.

Hunter as himself. Without the obligations of the Golden Guard (a.k.a the prince of TBI), the actions of Caleb, and the expectations Belos has of him as a clone of his brother.

There's also his love of wolves to take into account. while Hecate is associated with many animals - hounds were the animal she was associated with the most. In alot of modern art, she is drawn with wolves.

And another thing Hecate is associated with is NECROMANCY. This ties in with Hunter being a clone of a dead person - even the way Grimwalkers are "born" looks like a person "coming back from the grave". They literally burst through the ground like a zombie in a horror movie. Grimwalkers are also "born" from the bones of a dead person.

Plus... it has been brought up before in Eclipse Lake, with all the subtly and grace of getting hit on the head with a coconut, that Hunter and Amity are nearly identical characters. You might be thinking, oh, Hunter was just trying to get into her head. And I'd say, yeah he was, but if you look at both of these characters side by side the are... again, nearly identical.

They're both kids who don't want to disappoint someone who thinks they're special. Their abusive parental figures put a lot of expectations onto them and if they "fail" to uphold these expectations, they receive harsh punishments. They're also kids who hide their softer core underneath a mean exterior. They both go through "antagonist to friend" arcs with Luz.

Soooooooo, I'm inclined to Believe Hecate (the character in Luz's favorite book series) is meant to represent Amity AND Hunter. even if she's from a book series Hunter isn't interested in... because his interest in this book series doesn't negate the symbolism he has with this character and this goddess lol.

[Plus, the whole "rivals who always meet on the battlefield" is more like Hunter and Luz's relationship than it was with Amity and Luz. Granted, it could have been something both Hunter and Amity shared in regards to their relationship with Luz in the unbotched version of the show. Since Amity was Lilith's protégé before they dropped it because they didn't have enough time to flush that relationship out.]

[acergi]

Okay I’m gonna try and put together my prediction for a timeline:

I HAVE NOT WATCHED FOR THE FUTURE YET PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL IT IN REPLIES!!!!

Also, this only has stuff in the trailer, so I’m tagging it with spoilers, but there aren’t really any. I’m putting it under the cut because it’s super long stjrsjsrs

First off, the link to the trailer if you haven’t seen it yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIurNjdV-X0 

And the promo stuff (cause I mentin them a bit):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_qUdLeKQA8

Episode opens similarly to TTT 

So we go back to the DOU. The Collector goes and does whatever they did to the coven heads next. There may be a brief fight (I doubt they could fight for long in that condition), or they never even wake up from the spell and wake up to being used as a puppet. 

Based on King’s outfit (by which I mean not wearing those robes), I think this also happens on the DOU. The Collector recogonizes Eda/The Owl Beast, and doesn’t put the weird mind control on her (or tries and it doesn’t work, which could be why Collectors are supposed to lock up all Flying or Swimming things so they last (I think that’s what the book said)). Eda doesn’t win, maybe because she too, was weakened by the spell, and lost an arm (and the collector is crazy powerful), or The Collector vaugely threatens King (or Eda thinks he does and wants to keep King safe). She either ends up locked up by where the coven geads are later seen, or is able to barely escape, but not save King.

Lilith gets away somehow. Maybe the BATTs do too, and I think Hooty? Lilith has a different outfit and way shorter hair, so she must be able to originally get away. Since Eda also does it’s possible she initially gets away. Not many others get away from the DOU.

The parents of the Hexsquad may think the kids are either dead or under the Collector’s influence, since they were last known to be in the area. 

Side note: The Collector being called a collector and being trapped in something strongly resembling a pokeball is hilarious to me rn.

Anyway, credits play (or just the show name), and it cuts to the Hexsquad. They do they’re little thing in the forest from all of the New Years promo stuff. If the palisman thing is a trick of the Collector, this happens now, letting the rest of the hexsquad understand the situation a bit better. Since I think they’ll be by the Clawthorne ruins at first, they are in the forest, so all the foresty stuff happens. If the palisman is actually hatching, it won’y happen in the beginning of the episode because that makes absolutely no sense. 

I think this is the first place they would go, just to see what’s left and regroup. Some of them may need medical attention *cough* Hunter *cough*. Amity and Luz talk about what happened in the Human Realm/Amity tries to comfort her, maybe Willow finallly does something since she was barely in the last episode. Maybe Gus and Hunter can finally have the Grimwalker/Belos’s memories talk? They decide to go see what’s happening in Bonesbourough/see who they can find/see their parents. I think Willow and Gus live in town, so their parents would be there.

That being said, Amity and Camila are fighting someone in a cave, which could happen more towards the beginning if they are tracking Belos. 

Belos has a head start, so he goes back to his stupid cave that he used to live in 300 years ago. He opened it with a glyph combo so I think its his old cave. Can’t exactly have people coming across your genocide plans. I think this episode will be more about the Collector and King, while Belos plans for the finale. I know the blurb says he is also going after the collecor, so maybe this is him regrouping. idk what he’s doing. Maybe he’s hoping he left a palisman in the freezer a couple hundred years ago before he moved out. 

Okay the next couple of things happen some time in the middle but idk in what order:

King reads the story to The Collector/we get Collector lore. It seems like there are a bunch of them. 

From the handwriting at the bottom, it seems to me like The Collector does not exactly fit in with the other Collectors/disagrees and just wants to play. Also, the last line about wiping everything really concerns me.

Whatever happens to Hooty happens. This could have happened in the beginning and Lilith is just seeing it now which could be for a few reasons:

1. King, who has Hooty manages to escape with Eda

2. Eda gets a hold of him and shows her

However, it is also very possible that this happens now. What’s interesting is that King has Hooty in this shot:

which seems to be Eda trying to rescue King or escape. I would imagine this happens later in the episide as almost a penultimate fight, or a secondary fight while the main fight at hexside is happening, but it’s hard to tell. Either way, I think Eda and Lilith have been camping out somewhere together and this is their daring plan to save King (and maybe the kids if they don’t know where they are). Also, Eda’s curse is starting to come out. And short hair!!

Also, it lowkey looks like the grom tree in the background, so maybe grom is here? The goop thing in the poster looks a lot like grom, and there’s a picture of grom in the memory room later in the trailer. 

They go to Hexside where everyone is hanging out.

They look through Luz’s memories for knowledge of Philip Wttebane. I think I saw someone say that they could be looking for that glyph combo he used to get them into the Titan’s skull, where The Collector’s castle seems to be. This gets interrupted by whatever the Collector’s doing. Also, that spider is slitghtly concerning. 

Callback to grom, with the grom monster, who I think is going to make a callback in this episode in some way. Maybe in the end of the episode?

Meanwhile, Hunter and Willow are out and about doing some Huntlowy things. They seem to be in town when The Collector and King arrive, so idk what they’re doing. 

They arrive in Bonesbourough. Idk why King looks sort of mad. Bump tries to hold them off, but fails, Boom attack, something happens that totally changes things, idk. 

I also have no idea what Belos is doing this whole time. Idk what his next plan is, or litterally anything about what the hell he’s trying to do at this point.